There is a problem with One Piece's Holy Knights (and it's about their regeneration)

Regenerative powers are a recurring trope in fictional stories, and One Piece is no exception. In Eiichiro Oda’s pirate-themed series, the upper echelons of the World Government can regenerate from any injury, including fatal wounds, a supernatural ability that renders them seemingly immortal and nigh-unbeatable.

The Five Elders, the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons who directly serve Imu-sama, first revealed this exceptional asset during the Egghead Arc. The Holy Knights, a group of warriors tasked with upholding the World Government’s will by dealing out justice in Mary Geoise and punishing any rebellious countries, exhibit the same ability to instantly recover from any kind of damage.

Sent to Elbaph to subjugate the island, a group of Holy Knights used their Devil Fruit powers and apparent immortality to crush any resistance. However, recent One Piece chapters highlight growing controversy around this extraordinary regenerative ability, as its stifling presence threatens to flatten the storytelling with a repetitive, one-dimensional gimmick that diminishes tension and reduces variety.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1149.

Regeneration may become One Piece’s most overused and predictable trope

The Holy Knights on Elbaph

The Holy Knights in One Piece chapter 1140 (Image via Shueisha)

The exact mechanics of the regenerative abilities wielded by the Five Elders and the Holy Knights remain unclear, but it’s fairly obvious that the source is Imu-sama. The mysterious supreme leader of the World Government, sitting on the Empty Throne in the secret of Mary Geoise’s Pangaea Castle, bestows these supernatural traits on a few selected subordinates.

After arriving on Elbaph via magical teleportation through the “Abyss”, two Holy Knights, namely the commander Saint Figarland Shamrock and his subordinate, a girl named Gunko, tried to recruit the mighty Loki into their ranks. As Loki refused the offer, Gunko summoned two more Holy Knights— Saint Rimoshifu Killingham and Saint Sommers— to subjugate the entire island.

As Shamrock left Elbaph to go back to Mary Geoise, Gunko, Killingham, and Sommers set their sights on the youngest Giants present on the island. The three Holy Knights kick-started a cruel game as they used their Devil Fruit abilities to kidnap as many children Giants as possible.

Killingham used the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Qilin to put the children to sleep, while also manifesting their wildest dreams into reality. By doing so, he conjured nightmarish monsters to attack the adult Giants. Meanwhile, Gunko activated her Arrow-Arrow Fruit to lead the sleepwalking children from the village towards a ship at a dock.

The abducted children (Image via Shueisha)

Sommers employed the Thorn-Thorn Fruit, which allows him to generate and manipulate special thorny vines, to create thorny shells around the children, so that anyone attempting to make physical contact with them would get harmed. Nami, Usopp, Brook, and Jinbe from the Straw Hat Pirates appeared to help with the abduction, but Gunko confronted them.

After explaining that the Holy Knights intended to hold the children hostage so that the adult Giants would be forced to fight for the World Government in the forthcoming conflicts, Gunko single-handedly overwhelmed the four Straw Hats who were standing in front of her. She also managed to capture Colon, the son of Ripley and the former Roger Pirates member Scopper Gaban.

The Straw Hat crew’s Nico Robin suddenly appeared to attack Saint Sommers, who had subdued and brutally injured her beloved mentor, Jaguar D. Saul. Robin used her Flower-Flower Fruit to strike Sommers with several attacks, seemingly defeating him, but he shrugged off the lethal damage thanks to his regeneration.

Gaban attacking Sommers in One Piece chapter 1148 (Image via Shueisha)

Just as Sommers was about to finish off Nico Robin, however, Scopper Gaban sliced his hand. Sommers was shocked, seeing as the wound wouldn’t heal, and he could barely move, as Gaban attacked him again. The old pirate used his ax to deliver a tremendous slash, leaving Sommers screaming in pain and terror.

Enraged by what the Holy Knights did to his son and the other inhabitants of Elbaph, Sommers unleashed other Haki-imbued attacks on Sommers, cutting his body in half. Sommers didn’t die, but he didn’t regenerate either, suggesting that Gaban was somehow able to stop his otherwise flawless regeneration.

Unfortunately, Gaban had to stop his rampage when he saw Colon held hostage by Gunko. Upon seeing that, Gaban’s initial plan was to strike Gunko before she could kill his son. However, when Gaban used his Observation Haki to see the future, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to take her down before she executed Colon.

So, with a heavy heart, Gaban reluctantly surrendered in order not to endanger Colon’s life. Moments after, Gunko used her Devil Fruit ability to create several pointed arrows and send them to pierce Gaban’s torso. Badly wounded from the attack, the old pirate fell into the void below, with Colon’s harrowing cries filling the air.

Are the Holy Knights too dependent on regeneration?

The main problem with the Holy Knights is that their supernatural regeneration makes it difficult to understand the real extent of their combat prowess. In the recent fight on Elbaph, they were hit many times, but it’s hard to understand when they don’t intentionally dodge or block, and when they are simply unable to do so.

Gunko was hit by attacks from Nami and even Usopp, but managed to outmaneuver Jinbe and Brook, suggesting that she allowed Nami and Usopp to strike her. On the other hand, while Saint Sommers defeated Nico Robin, he was repeatedly hit by her moves.

It remains unclear whether Sommers needed his immortality to beat Robin, or if he was just playing around. Then, Scopper Gaban attacked and overwhelmed Sommers. The Holy Knight put up some resistance, keeping up with Gaban and blocking some of his attacks, but Gaban ultimately cut him in half.

Gaban proved himself to be much stronger than Sommers, highlighting a vast difference in skill between the two, yet this encounter once again failed to clarify the extent of the Holy Knights’ fighting prowess beyond their regeneration.

Gunko vs Jinbe and Brook in One Piece chapter 1146 (Image via Shueisha)

At this point in the story, almost every major character can use Armament Haki to increase their defense. When Usopp struck Gunko with his Green Star technique, her body was completely destroyed by the impact.

This was weird, as any powerful One Piece character, even those born as normal humans with no special racial traits or bodily augmentations, are still tough enough to withstand remarkable punishment. On top of this, strong fighters can reinforce their bodies with Haki or peculiar techniques, which allow them to tank most attacks without getting injured at all.

The sequence with Gunko and Usopp recalled the iconic scene in which Admiral Kizaru was hit and seemingly “killed” by Scratchman Apoo. On that occasion, the Admiral decided to take the hit passively, knowing that Apoo had no way to actually harm him. Gunko likely did the same, unconcerned with dodging or defending as she knew that her regeneration rendered Usopp’s effort futile.

Robin attacking Sommers in One Piece chapter 1148 (Image via Shueisha)

Still, the fact that Gunko— whose overall power should at least rival that of a high-tier Yonko Commander— had her body completely obliterated by an attack from someone as weak as Usopp raises questions about the Holy Knights’ might. Even average Yonko Commanders would emerge unscathed from Usopp’s attacks, even without using Haki or other defensive measures.

All in all, the omnipresent regeneration seems to undermine narrative tension rather than enhancing it. During the Egghead Arc, the Five Elders relied heavily on their immortality, not bothering to dodge or block most incoming attacks. This led to repetitive scenes where they are wounded, only to regenerate themselves as if nothing happened.

The Five Elders were maimed by Brook, had holes blasted through their bodies by Franky, were kicked in the face by Sanji, were blown away by Atlas, were crushed by a barrage of punches from Luffy or powerful blows from Bartholomew Kuma, and were beheaded by Dorry and Brogy. Yet, they stood unfazed, treating these attempts as mere nuisances.

The Five Elders overused regeneration on Egghead (Image via Shueisha)

The Elders rarely bothered to defend themselves, like when Nusjuro blocked Zoro’s attack, or when Warcury withstood Luffy’s strike. Admittedly, the Elders’ passive endurance, a behavior almost akin to that of zombies, robbed most clashes of their thrill.

Unlike the Holy Knights, however, the Five Elders have clearly shown that they possess outstanding personal skills beyond their regeneration. They are all portrayed as formidable Haki users, and each of them seems to excel in a certain area, as evidenced by Nusjuro’s speed and swordsmanship, Warcury’s durability, and Saturn’s peculiar techniques.

So, while the Elders are powerhouses even without their immortality, the Holy Knights appear to be much more dependent on it. The problem is that the previous forms of regeneration featured in One Piece all had limits, while this supposed immortality doesn’t seem to have any limit, except for the still unknown means that Gaban used to permanently defeat Sommers.

A limitless gimmick becomes boring

Marco, as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

In One Piece, Marco can use the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix to regenerate from any wound, including lethal injuries, much like how the mythological phoenix is said to rise from its own ashes to obtain new life. That said, the phoenix-like regeneration is limited by the user’s stamina.

Repeated use of the healing ability will deplete Marco’s stamina, and when he runs out of energy, he won’t be able to regenerate anymore.

King, the only known survivor of his race, inherited the incredible resilience of Lunarians, who were hailed as a race of gods capable of surviving any hardship.

Thanks to his Lunarian heritage, King was extremely resilient, able to withstand tremendous punishment without suffering any wounds. He could even walk away unharmed from attacks strong enough to significantly injure someone as tough as Kaido.

King as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Being empowered with King’s DNA, the Seraphim cyborgs at the World Government’s disposal gained the same exceptional resilience as Lunarians. However, when a Lunarian turns off the flame on their back to get a speed boost, their incredible durability decreases a bit.

As for Logia users, who can transform their bodies into an element of nature to reform unharmed even if they suffer a direct hit, this invulnerability becomes meaningless if they face an opponent who can use Haki. In fact, skilled Haki users can hit the real body, bypassing the Logia element.

Some Logia users regenerating in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Moreover, certain Logia have individual weaknesses tied to specific interactions between their element and other natural elements. For example, the Sand-Sand Fruit loses its intangibility when it comes into contact with a liquid, while the Rumble-Rumble Fruit becomes nearly useless against rubber.

The seemingly limitless magical regeneration that Imu grants to Elders and Holy Knights makes them daunting foes, but also leads to repetitive fights. There is also a risk that once their secret is exposed— as what Gaban did to Sommers remains unrevealed— their invulnerability will falter at once, diminishing their threat.

Given their buildup as key antagonists in One Piece’s final saga, this would be an underwhelming conclusion.